Sound of Silence- post Interbike, post-Europe, post-Season. Wow. I am done for now.

I wrote my last blog on the plane, leaving Italy- so it did not get posted until I got back to Cleveland where I got online for the first time in a while. WHEW! I am now, finally, at this exact moment (not saying that it will last beyond this cup of coffee) NOT tired! But it has been a while in the making...

I finished my little Grand Tour on Sunday and hopped on a plane on Monday morning, heading straight to Las Vegas for the big industry convention, Interbike. I got in at 10:30PM that night after 20+ hours of travel and nearly missing my connecting flight since it took me about 1.5 hours to get through customs in New York. All par for the course... I got to my hotel in Vegas at 11-11:30 only to find that they lost my reservation. Linda was not there yet and fortunately, I had a friend with an extra room at Treasure Island, so I just went there. Ended up going to bed at around 1:30 in the morning and not sleeping all that well. Wake up call at 5:30AM to head out to Boulder City to meet up with the SRAM folks for demo days. Good cure for jet lag! I ended up having a blast, leading rides with dealers and such on the new Red Group (AWESOME, by the way!) all day long. I really enjoyed it too. Tiring, but it was fun to get to meet people who were all jazzed on SRAM and tell them about my experience racing and training on it all season. I have been getting to ride some of the prototype and pre-production Red components all season, so I got to tell them how much I love it. And I do! But long day... only to get longer since from the moment the plane touches down in Vegas, it is non-stop, so once Linda got there, we met up with some of our sponsors and headed out to a late dinner. Fun, but late night #2.

The next day, the show opened and Linda and I spent the entire day running around to all our current and potential sponsors to say hi, tell them about how the team is doing and just to touch base. It was a big difference from last year: last year, the two of us went to Interbike and did not have any sponsors yet and only had three riders on the roster. Typically, by the show, teams have all their sponsors lined up already, so we were long shots. And no one knew who I was or what I could possibly do. We worked hard and were so thrilled to have gained the trust of our sponsors: LOOK, Ritchey, HED, SRAM, Champion System all saw what we were trying to build and saw our vision and backed us. It meant so much to us and enabled us to move on with what we built last year.

Well, this year, it was totally different. People knew who I was and had followed my results. “Hey Brooke! Great job over in Europe!” It was crazy! I had some people ask for autographs when they recognized me on the floor- not even in a kit. That was really flattering! It was great to get to see our sponsors and tell them how much we appreciate all that they have done for us- they really have made all this possible and I don’t forget it for a minute! We are so lucky to work with companies that make such great products (our equipment is the tops, without question), but are also staffed by some really great people. I can honestly say that the companies that we work with are far more than just bike companies. I really like all the people there too. Good people. We are fortunate.

The next two days of the show were like that: non-stop. On your feet... constantly bombarded with noise and “Vegas”. It is sensory overload, to put it mildly.

Thursday night, after spending the last few days on my feet, working the floor and still recovering from traveling- we had a crit. It was not exactly a race that we had focused on, since the show was our focus. I figured that I would either race phenomenally well or horribly! One or the other! In the end, I guess it was somewhere in between.

The race was in the parking lot of the Mandalay Bay- and it was a fun layout, but I was not a big fan of the course: there was a layer of dust and parking lot scum on the road that kept me from taking the corners as fast as I would have liked. The last corner, I had slipped a couple times without crashing, but it was a clear warning to me that I could not take it hot. The race was strung out and pretty fast the whole night. I had a lot of fun out there and although my legs did not feel great- so I could not attack and play around as much as I would have liked- I felt good enough to keep good position and have a decent race. Yukie and Liza were also there, despite their late nights in Bermuda and in Vegas- they did a great job! They got up there and helped keep the race fast, what I wanted... I guess winning the drinking stage in Bermuda and for the first few nights of Vegas is good for crit racing!

Cheerwine was there with Laura and the field was really quite strong: lots of sprinters. Teresa Cliff-Ryan was there, Nicki Wainsgard, Caravella, Carroll, Shelly Olds, humm... can’t even remember who all was there, but a lot of sprinters. Rochelle Gilmore was there and it was fun to see her on American soil.

For the final few laps (no breaks would stick since you could see the riders the whole time and it was not technical enough- meaning that it was just too easy to chase things down), Cheerwine did a fantastic job of setting up a great lead out train and Rochelle was sitting on Laura’s wheel. I was on Rochelle and actually had a lot of fun fighting off riders who were encroaching in on that wheel. (**If you are a racer and reading this... don’t try and get a wheel from me when we are heading to the line. I will warn you now- I am all nice and everything until there is a line and a sprint.... I actually enjoy being physical on the bike and am probably bigger than you... :-) best bet is to just let me do my thing and don’t fight me for a wheel...). I do have fun shoving people in sprints. It is funny since I am so jovial and nice all other times- but when it is go time... it is bike racing!

So, with the last few laps, Cheerwine did a fantastic job leading out Laura and I sat on Rochelle. I did not have a lot of confidence that I could pull out a great finish since the last corner was less than 200m from the line and I knew that I had to be conservative since my rear wheel had not been sticking on it. In the end, I could not take it fast enough and ended up 4th. Not a bad finish, but not what I would have liked either. All and all- it was a fun race.

Now, I am finally home. The first night back, I slept over 13 hours. This morning, slept about 12. I am not sure what to do with myself. It is a strange sensation to be done for a bit. I am on vacation...

As I write this- I am starting to reflect on it all. This season has been amazing. I got through it. Last year, I had such a great year that I felt that there was simply no way that it could possibly be as good this year. I was expecting to just do my best but I figured that it would just be hard to top 2006. There was a little part of me that worried that last year was a fluke- I had won the races I did because no one knew who I was. Or, that I won by luck- no one can deny that Luck is not important in cycling and I am a very lucky person. Maybe I had a run of good luck in ’06. Heading into this year, I saw it as my first real test. People knew who I was (or, with my mouth flapping, figured it out right away!) and I could not get lucky too much. I knew that I would not be given a lot of slack to sneak off into breaks up the road or to jump early on sprints and catch people off-guard. I had thought that if things went really really well... that maybe... just maybe I might be able to get a chance to do a race or two in Europe. Linda had told me that I should not race in Europe until I was ready to make an impact. She said, “You don’t want to go over there to hang on to the back of the pack. You want to go over there when you are ready to be a contender”. That really stuck with me. And here was this year- not only did I have a great team and great success on our home turf, but I DID get a chance to race in Europe. And I won a race over there. I finished 2nd in one, 3rd in another... and I ended up with 7 other top 10 UCI finishes. How did that even happen? This is one of those “pinch me” moments where it is just hard to believe it is all true.

Above it all- I am a lucky person.

Thank you to every single person who has helped to get me here. Thank you to all those, stranger and friend alike who read my blog and give me the support to get on my bike on days when I simply don’t want to. I always do. I don’t think of it as discipline... I think of it as responsibility. I am doing my job because I love it and because I can sit here and write this blog and know that out there, somewhere, you are reading it. It may sound cliche, but I don’t just ride my bike for me. I want to share it with you. I get on my bike when I am sad, tired, sore, broken down, mentally and physically fatigued... because I don’t want to let you down- not just because I won’t want to let myself down. Thank you. It really means a lot to me. It really does.

Leaving... on a jet plane... Toscana Recap... LONG!

I was not really able to write much in the last few days that I was racing in Italy, since truth be told- I was too tired to!

My Grand Tour caught up to me in different ways. Ardeche was harder physically, by Toscana, I was starting to feel strong again. But mentally, it started to get taxing. It was hard to write when I got home, especially since we had so many double days, where you would get up in the morning, race, then go home to nap, eat, shower and then start over again in the evening. But here is a bit of my thoughts on another crazy week of racing my bike!

The picture above is from the finish in the hardest stage: the third day we raced to Voltera. It is a gorgeous old city perched atop a hill. The race finished on a climb and our team just so happened to have one of THE best climbers in the world: up and coming super star Mara Abbott. We also had Amber Neben, who is a phenomenal climber as well. Then there was me... uh, so guess what my job was? Water bottles and hang on, make the time cut and do what you can.

The race started out with two little blips on the profile, then a long stretch of mostly straight, flat roads heading into the first 10k climb, then down around and back up for another finishing 10k climb. Our team plan was for Amber to prep for worlds by doing her thing and for Ali and Lauren to get Mara to the climb and unleash her to do what she does best- go uphill fast!

The short story is that the stage turned out really well. I helped a bit in getting Mara to the climb, but it was mostly Ali and Lauren who were the real work horses- I was supposed to save my legs for the sprint, but it was still fun to have all three of us rotating on the front, Mara sitting in great position as we hit the climb before I said bye to my teammates as I dropped back with the sprinter crew. Mara did a great job and finished 7th and Amber finished 5th. I trudged up the mountain and enjoyed the view... it was spectacular!

The next day was a double day- our second and last. It was a cruel joke to have it come right after Voltera! We had two short, flat road races. The morning race was 60k and had a 1.5 (ish) but super steep little climb 13k before the finish. Ali attacked hard right after the first sprint and the pack sat up enough right away for her to sail up the road. She soon had a 1 minute time gap and was holding it. It was thrilling to think that she would hold it to the line! I know how good she is at racing like that and it was great practice for the time trial at Worlds- she was flying and racing her heart out. I really believed that she would take it and hoped that she would! She would have too, if it were not for the Safi Pasta team drilling it hard and stringing out the field as we headed into the climb!

It was funny: this climb was the only thing that stood in the way of what should be a sprint finish, so all the teams with sprinters were working hard to get their sprinters into position for the hill, so that they could bring them to the line. It was like a lead out for a sprint finish- Safi had their whole team up there and they were riding hard! I had moved up and was fighting for position, knowing that I had to fight hard if I had any chance of staying with the group when the race split on this hill, as I knew that it would. I maneuvered into good position and worked to hang on. We caught Ali on the hill, sadly, her bold move was ended by the Safi-train. I was slipping away from the lead riders in front of me, but Lauren and Amber were there and were keeping an eye on me, pacing me up the hills. When we crested and I was behind the leaders, the two of them worked hard to bring me up to the front group, which we caught with 5k to go. We then went straight to the front and the two of them started to get into position to help me with a leadout. Amber was there from 2k on, Lauren taking over at 1k. I had gotten swarmed but Lauren attacked to help open up the road for me. I was trying to be patient and was looking for my moment, but the sprint was very narrow and lined with barricades. I had a hard time moving forward and was not able to fully open up my sprint. I managed to place 5th and was happy about getting to the line in the first place (thanks to some great help by my teammates) and happy that I am learning more and more on my finishes. It was crazy: Italian Crazy, but I got up there. Jim keeps telling me how I will keep finishing 5th, 6th, 5th, 4th... then I will start to win. I believe that. I know that these sprints are not all about speed... there is a lot to learn and I am learning when I am up there.

The super exciting thing about that stage was that Ali won her first Euro jersey: she won the most aggressive rider award!!! I was so happy for her: she has worked so hard for all her teammates and it is not always recognized. People may look at the results and see her time-gapped at the finish, not knowing that she was not dropped, but brought back a break, lead me out, moved me up, covered a bazillion attacks. The results don’t tell the story of the race. That is why I like to write these reports. I want my teammates who help me onto the podium and into the lime light to get the credit that they deserve. This IS a team sport. To see Ali in her jersey made me happy beyond measure! I don’t have a picture, I meant to get it from her blog to post on my site, but I am on a plane right now and not online. But I was really happy for her- she deserved it!

We then headed back to Lucca for a bite of food, nap and shower only to turn back around and head out for race #2. It starts to feel like it is two days and not just two races. I had to chug a redbull to get the fog to lift from my brain before the race. Our numbers dwindled again: Ali did not start since she had pretty much cooked her legs medium-well in the morning and needed to work on recovering for Worlds. It was down to Mara, Lauren and myself.

With these crazy races, Mara is working on moving in the pack and positioning herself, so she is not called upon for leadout duty and this stage was a sprint finish. Lauren and I were to team up and do what we could. We had a plan- I was going to lead Lauren out instead of vice versa. I was really excited about this since, as I just mentioned, I like to see my unsung hero teammates in the spotlight and also because I think that it was good for both of us. You learn a lot about sprinting by trying to lead out (IT IS HARD!) and I think that you learn a lot about leading out by sprinting. And... Lauren had a great sprint and so I felt that she could really get up there.

Originally, I was going to jump at the 1k to go mark and lead her to the small rise just before the finish, launching her to the finishing stretch. Plans changed though- there was a small break of 5 (?) off the front and at the 3k to go sign, I had seen Lauren move to the front and she was taking the wind. So, I moved up and decided to try and set a tempo to try and keep her safe and keep her from getting swarmed, knowing that if I could get her to the 1k, she could fight it out to the finish. With the riders off the front, we were not going for a win, but a sprint win. I was chipping away at their gap, but did not have the power to really pull the break back. I saw the 2k to go marker and felt the peloton easing up around the sides, bad news for Lauren, so I stepped it up a bit. There was a 90* right hand corner at 1k to go and I figured that I would pull to that corner and pull off (or, rather, to before the corner so that I could get out of the way!). I did and as I pulled off, I saw Lauren tucked in with great position as they hit the corner. Unfortunately, around the corner, she got pinched on the inside and lost her position. She made up a few places on the finish, but you cna’t make up too much ground when you lose position in the last k. We were happy that they had shortened the race, so it was less than an hour and then we go to go home... yay.

The next day, there was a light at the end of the tunnel- only two more days of races. We raced at 2pm, so we have the morning to loll around. I woke up without an alarm, ate, drank some coffee and enjoyed the morning. Then though, I needed nap! Apparently, eating breakfast was too hard for me and I needed to nap. THAT should have probably tipped me off that I was starting to get a bit tired from the Grand Tour...

The saturday stage was a hard one: we have four circuits with a 2k (ish) hard little climb and then a bit 5k climb then a decent into the finish. From the first time up the hill, it was a hard day! My legs were dying and I barely held on. We had thought that the race would be easy for the first few times up the hill, but they went hard from the gun. When we were not climbing, it felt like we were racing in Holland- it was single file and we were powering HARD on the flats. The peloton would only regroup and bunch up in time for me to have to fight my way to the front as we would head to the hellish little baby hill for yet another time. The second time, I was dropped and chased back on. Thankfully, the third and fourth times were easier- I have to confess that I was scared that I would get dropped and time cut!

Fortunately, I hung on to the final climb where I knew that I was to save my legs for the final race and just ride home. I did. Even riding easy though was hard for me. I was tired. Really, really tired.

We got back to the cars to find that Mara had once again had a great race, finishing 8th! She hung on over the crazy downhill (woah- seriously crazy) and had done well on the climb.

The funny thing for me was that night- I was beyond tired. I could barely speak. I sort of sat there numb, laughing inside but too tired to move! I sat on a chair outside after my massage since it was closer than my room! The Grand Tour was winding down and I was cooked! I went to bed at around 9 that night and just fell dead onto my pillow.

I woke up the next morning and the rest had done me well. I focused a lot on my eating: food can save you in more ways than one! I rested, ate and felt ready to race another day! In fact, I felt really ready to race!

We started with a big of a panic though- as all the material that we had: the website, the printed out race bible, the small maps/course descriptions that they handed out... all said that the race started at 2:00PM. We got there at 12:30 and noticed that everyone was dressed and signing in! HOLY COW! “What time do we race?!” “2!!!” “Why is everyone dressed?” “I don’t know! We race at 2!!” We all checked: yes. We raced at 2. It was plain as day. We saw a rider we knew and asked what time we raced... 12:45. WHAT?!?! They had sent out a communique in the morning, changing the start time and we did not get it since we were not staying in the race hotel... typical Italian racing. Thankfully, 12:45 turned into 1 and we had time to get dressed, sign in, take the prerequisite bathroom breaks and get to the line.

The last stage turned out to be a crazy and super fun race. So many people had dropped out- many were going to worlds, some were probably tired- that the field was nearly half of what we stared with. Now only 70-80 riders left and a jovial vibe in the air, the race started out with 7 circuits around a town and then headed to Florence for another crazy Italian sprint finish: this time winding into the breath-taking, beautiful city and crossing over bridges with a few crazy tight corners, cobbles stones and narrow streets packed with cheering masses.

I had expected the 7 initial circuits to be pretty mellow, thinking that a break would be unlikely to stick and that we would sort of tick off miles before the finish. I could not have been more wrong! From the gun, riders were attacking and the field was strung out. Lauren and I were up front and taking turns covering moves. It was only on the second or third lap when Lauren was in a break that looked good: I watched as all the teams sent low GC rider up and the peloton sat, waiting to chase. It became pretty clear that the teams would be happy with a break. Lauren’s break came back and Georgia Bronzini went off the front with Andri Visser (DBS) and the two were solo for a lap before being caught as the peloton came over a little rise on an overpass. I had been up front and followed the wheels in front of me, when I radioed to Lauren to hop on the counter attack. She radioed back, “Uh, Brooke? You are in a break. You have a gap”. “Oh, how nice.” I had not realized that we had broken free. When I looked back, I saw a single file line of riders- not seeing that there was a big gap behind them.

Chantel Beltman from T-Mobile was in the break and that woman is a diesel engine. She is VERY strong and right away, it became clear that she wanted the break to stick. We had 11 riders at first, and I sensed that it was a good break from the get-go. I pulled through and so did about 5 of us. Chantel working hard. It turned out that Chantel was only 1:47 down on the GC and she was going to race for the overall win. I wanted the break to stick since I realized that there were not a whole lot of sprinters there. My legs were feeling great! Bigla had their rider, Noemi Cantele, in the jersey and they had their sprinter in our break. We were rolling the break well- all working together smoothly and everyone doing their job. The Bigla sprinter dropped back to help chase and still our break was putting on time. Soon, we had over 2 minutes on the peloton and even with the entire Bigla team chasing, it was clear that it would stick.

I was excited. I was the only sprinter left and I felt great! I had the legs and I had been handed a gift: the gift of the perfect break! We were leaving the finishing circuits and heading out of town to Florence.

Then it happened: the bad luck. Racing has a huge element of luck- sometimes you are on the good end of it (got into the right break) and sometimes you are on the bad end of it... my tire blew. I can say now, in hindsight, that I am clearly aware that I am a lucky person in general and if luck is a commodity that is limited, then it is only fair that I can hand off my good luck from time to time. That race, I most certainly passed along my luck- as it was not just a flat that foiled what could have been the biggest win of my career...

As it happened, Chris, our mechanic was directing as Jim had already left for Germany. He was doing a great job, but the race radio was not. I had radioed to Chris and told him that I had a flat, but he could not hear me. He had not been called up to the break and was still stuck behind the peloton, despite us having now over 2 minutes on the pack, the team cars had not moved up yet. Typically, when a rider has a mechanical, the race radio will alert the director. Nope. They did not tell him. I raised my hand, shifted into the 11 on my rear and calmly pulled aside for the neutral wheel change.

Without going into TOO much detail... let me just say that it was a nightmare. The guy did not know how to change my wheel. I have a SRAM rear derailleur so it is a little different- but it is not that hard. It is not rocket science. They say that for every second you are on the side of the road, you have 20 seconds of all out chasing to get back on. I stood, calmly at first as the guy walked (YES, walked, not ran as all mechanics do, but walked) to change my wheel. He bobbled it and had no idea what he was doing. So I tried to do it. He would not let me and continued to fail. I would try again and he would push me back. I watched as he dropped my bike, bobbled time and time again and finally tried to push me back into the race with the chain UNDER the cassette! I finally succeeded in pushing him off my bike and fixed my wheel myself. He then pushed me back into the race with the peloton right behind me (and my rear break rubbing)- it had taken him nearly 2 minutes to do something that should have taken less than 20 seconds. Better yet- they tried to motorpace me back to the break and kept dropping me and my bike would not shift since the wheel he put on was not compatible. Argh.

At this point, Chris had finally heard that there was something wrong from the race radio and moved up next to me. My bike was not shifting well and I just could not do it anymore. Chris brought me into the car, knowing how upset I was and I sat in the back, trying to calm down and let it all go.

In the end, the break did stay away. And it stayed together. The woman that won is a woman who I can out-sprint. That is not to say that I would have won. I am sure that the finish was a crazy game of cat and mouse- where I would had to be smarter than fast to win- but still. It wrenched my gut all over again when the race finished and I knew that I would have had the chance. I had the legs. I had the break. I had it. I know that it was not the incompetent mechanic who lost me the race- it was the flat. Even with the best change in the world, it would have been hard to catch back onto that break. But still- it hurts. It really hurts.

I was not only one upset after the race though- Chantel was racing to win the whole thing. She was 1:47 down in the GC and the break was up to 2 minutes. There was a hill, just before the finish, and I watched from the car as the race leader sat on the front and drilled it as hard as she could. We watched riders dropping off the pack like spilt popcorn.... in the end, Cantele held on to her win by a mere 2 seconds. Chantel took second, but tasted victory as I had before my flat. Had I not flatted: perhaps the race would have been different for both of us. I was certainly motivated to stay away and would have worked hard. 2 seconds... another strong, motivated rider... that was 2 seconds.

That is bike racing... some highs and some lows. All and all- it has been an incredible trip and I am keenly aware of it. It has been, as always, an honor to race with these women and it has been fun. I am sad that I am not going to be at Worlds since I really would love to get to cheer them all on. Good luck girls! I know that you are going to do great!

Insanity. Simply insane.

Today we had a double day- a 50ish k race in the AM with hills, and a pancake flat race tonight for about 60k this evening. I want to keep this a bit short (HA!) since I am tired and need to get to bed.

We started today with some bad news- Chrissy was not allowed to race. Long story short... refer back to my blog entry about the clusterf*&% of racing in Italy... well, bit of a confusion and Katheryn had signed in but not raced and they just flipped a lid. So, Chrissy was not allowed to race. We had started this adventure with 7 riders planning on racing, now we were down to 5. Big bummer... not just because Chrissy rules- but also because she was my grand tour buddy. Sigh. At least I get to race “Worlds” in Vegas with her! (I did not make the final World’s team this year and so I am going to be racing in Vegas the “Crit World Championships”, so we have been joking about that)

This morning was kind of sane- my job was to get dropped on the climbs. Well- kind of. Since it was a flat stage in the evening, my job was to save my legs for the sprint that night. The course in the morning was beautiful- we finished on a hill and I just enjoyed the ride. I dropped on the last 4k and took in the beautiful scenery. We had raced through the madness that is Italy- i.e. potholes and cars everywhere, near death experiences (well- slightly dramatic) and a lot of yelling in the pack. This race also has a soundtrack provided by the thumping of the television helicopter, spectator and rider yells (sometimes shrieks) and the occasional blare of car horns.

I made it through the morning, as did the whole team. Mara and Amber were up there, but there was not much to write home about.

This afternoon though... holy cow. To keep it relatively short: it was THE most insane race that I can remember doing (ok... well, with the exception of Collegiate Track National Championship Points Race, where I swore that I would die). The race was not hard enough to split the field, so we had 144 people all trying to get to the front of the field and the streets were lined with cars and trucks that were pulled over in our rolling enclosure. Since we were all trying to move up, we move up on the side, swerving around those cars and waiting for someone to smack one. Thankfully, no one did. The roads were also narrow in some places and riddled with ruts and potholes. At one point, I almost slipped off my bars when I hit a bump that I was not expecting. The finish was crazy too- when I saw the finish map, I though for sure that they must have made a mistake! NO WAY could we possibly have a sharp (slightly downhill) 90* right hand corner at 800m from the finish! NO WAY would we THEN go through a round-about! And they were kidding (SURELY) that there was a 110* (or more) left hand corner with 150m to go! It was some kind of joke- their would be a massive pile up! SURELY! These riders are just crazy- it would not be possible to do this without hitting pavement, barricades or parked automobiles.

NOPE. That was the finish. And it was crazy. I told myself to race it as if I just did not know enough to be scared. Just do it- don’t think. DO.

We did 4 laps around a 9k finishing circuit and so we got a chance to check out the madness a few times. Ali got up front on the first lap and I sat behind her, taking it at speed to test the water. I figured out where I needed to be at “go time” on the last lap and realized that it was not so bad after all. I just had to fight HARD for position and just trust myself. I realized after the first lap that I was not afraid, I was excited. This is a tough sprinter field with a TON of go-fast riders and I would not be given anything for free.

On the last lap, Ali did a great job of moving me up so that I could start floating around the front with the other sprinters. I had wanted to be top 15 at 5k. I was. I had wanted to be top 5-10 at 3k, but I had lost a few spots. Then Lauren moved up beside me and moved me to exactly where I wanted to be with 2k to go. Perfect! Ali was on the front working hard to string it out, but then we slowed. I got swarmed and was able to push forward once, but the second time, I got pushed back when a couple riders muscled in on me from both sides and I got popped like an angry pimple. With 1.5k to go, I lost my position and was not able to make it up. In the end, I sprinted from probably 20th back and don’t have anything spectacular to report. It was a bummer that I could not get up there- but I am actually proud that I was not afraid and did get up there for a lot of the race. I did lose position, but it is still a learning experience. I am sure that I will get a couple more shots at the finish before this race is done and I will keep working on chipping my way up to the front. Next time!

Racing in Italy... ClusterF&^%$!

WOW! Italy is great. I absolutely love it here- but I have always heard that racing here is a bit, uh, well, Italian. Chaos. Organized? Well, lets just call it chaos and leave it at that. The race starts at 3? That means that it can start at 3, 3:30, 4:00, 7, or 2. Today, I got to witness, firsthand, the cluster that is bike racing in Italy.

The Giro Toscana started today with a 5.5k team time trial along the beach. Our team is a very strong one, stacked with riders who will be racing Worlds at the end of the month and we are using it as a prep. But, despite having a really strong team, our focus on this race is as prep for Worlds and so we are not racing for the GC. We have Amber Neben, Ali Powers, Chrissy Ruiter (my partner in my “Grand Tour” here- she is the only other person doing Holland, Ardeche & Toscana), Mara Abbott, Lauren Franges and myself. Kristin and Katheryn are here, but not racing.

While we were back at our gorgeous Toscan Villa (i.e. the Team House where Joe Millionaire could be filmed), we were sipping on our Italian coffees and having a nice relaxing morning as Jim set off to pick up our race numbers and get things set for the afternoon. As we relaxed and leisurely chatted away the day, Jim was starting Stage 0: trying to get the race numbers. Although he had checked online the night before and there was no mention of the location of the managers meeting/race number pickup changing- it is Italy. So, after years of having it in one hotel, curve-ball number 1 had the meeting in another hotel. Long story short: chaos. He finally gets to the right place... only to find out that instead of allowing 8-10 riders to register (as they have in the past and as they had said online), they decided to change it to 6 riders. Hence, Katheryn not racing. OK, so now that he finally had the numbers and all was good to go, he headed back to the house to meet up with us.

We were to leave and ride about an hour to the race. Leave at 2:30. OOPS... 2:15 and we get notice from Jim that time table had changed and we needed to leave at 2:15. We got the message late and hurried to get there: riding hard at times to make up some ground.

We arrive and are told that the first riders are off at 4pm and that we are going off at 4:30 (or something like that). We went promptly to sign-in/team presentation and waved to our adoring fans (it is funny to wave to no one on those presentation days when no one is there but a photographer and some passing strangers who don’t look up- that was our sign in today). We had scarcely stepped off the presentation stage when we were informed that our start time was now at 3:50 and it was 3:35! THIS is racing in Italy. OOPS! No warm-up. No numbers pinned. No game plan (uh, lets just go as hard as we can). No food. We had to laugh about it since we were not too concerned about our times, but still!

We frantically chamoised up into our skin suits and pinned our numbers as quickly as we could. We mounted our bikes with no TT equipment of any sort and rolled past the teams on rollers, displaying their TT bikes, wheels and helmets. We got to the start gate, not even sure who would pull where or what order- really or anything at all. We did not know that the course had three turns until Jim told us. No one knew anything- this is racing in Italy.

We took it all in stride and knew that it would most likely not be our prettiest time trial. There was a horrendous wind coming from the side and the race was out along the ocean, turn around 180, come back, turn around 180- go out again and then come back for the finish.

Another long story short: we were pure clusterfuck! Lauren started with me on her wheel, but we had gapped the rest of the riders by several bike lengths. We can’t hear over the wind so we don’t slow quickly enough. That was basically it- we would try and get it together, but it was chaos! It felt good to go hard and open up the legs- but it was not exactly an image of a well-oiled machine! I took my last pull and then dropped back from the group in the last 1k and rode in with Ali. As much as it was total chaos- it really was almost amusing.

We still don’t know what the results are... they were still racing long into the night (AFTER the wind died down, by the way!), but we do know that T-Mobile only beat us by 30seconds or so and they had their full TT rigs. I know that it would have made a huge difference... not to mention, they had done it before. Us... well, it was our first time.

Tomorrow, we have a double day. A 57k race in the morning and then a second 66k race in the evening. Why they couldn’t just combine the two and do a 123k day, I do not know. But it should be fun. Today was an opener. Tomorrow... we race. We will race.

Exciting Ardeche! (Summary)

We arrived in Lucca last night around midnight- after leaving Ardeche from the last stage and driving 7 hours. I slept in this morning and am exhausted. I finished reading my crappy book and took a nap. I now feel like I can FINALLY write a little about the experience! We had horrible internet and I had to write up a report on Holland (look for it as a rider diary on Cycling News), so did not have much energy before to even attempt to fight the connection problems and get to my blog.

Ardeche was another huge race for us. The team did great... again. We have been joking about how the National Team is riding so strong, people are going to start thinking that we are all dopers! HARDLY! Jim has done a great job with this program and we have some great talent that is coming together really well. Here is my version of Ardeche...

Stage one: it was mostly flat with a couple of climbs. We were going to try and get Kat to go for the sprint jersey and hope that I would make it for the finish. The race was all together still on the first climb when one of the motorcycles lost control and came crashing into our peloton. I was right behind it and so was Chrissy. It was terrifying to have the bike’s engine rev as it went sliding all the way across the peloton, cutting a swath of carnage as it took down probably a dozen riders. The sound was the worst: crashing motorcycle, bikes and a high pitched whine as the engine gunned. Seconds later, screams. Chrissy and Alison had both crashed and I stopped just in time. We were not going fast, thankfully, so it was not as bad as it could have been. I stopped and was making sure that Chrissy and Ali were OK, they were, and telling myself that the screams from other downed riders were just dramatic. I find that it is much easier on the psyche to not look and to just tell yourself that everyone is OK. Thankfully they all were OK. It scared us all. The crash was bad enough that the entire peloton stopped to make sure that everyone was not hurt and taken care of. We sat there in the middle of the road, drinking, peeing in the bushes and talking about how crazy that was and cursing the wreck-less driving of the motorbikes (that was not the only one that had caused problems of sorts). Shaken, but all in one piece, the peloton resumed after a 10-15 minute delay and finished the course in a bunch. Kat had taken the lead in the sprints and so the team shifted gears to working for me on the lead out. They did a great job- Kat taking over on the last 1k when one of the Raligh-Life Force riders attacked. I jumped hard to get on her wheel and dragged Dianne Zilute (Safi Pasta) behind me. I was feeling good and being patient when Zilute attacked at about 300m. I got on her wheel and was waiting to jump around her and waited too long. I did not see the finish line and did not see the finishing markers ticking down the meters. I was so bummed to have missed a win when the team had set me up so perfectly on the finish. They really did. The whole team was up there on the finish and we were driving it. We took control of the finish and out horse-powered the other lead-out trains that were struggling to assemble. I knew that I messed up the finish and was bummed- despite it being my best finish in Europe so far and I was pretty excited... it was still a bit of a bummer to not deliver when the team did such a good job. We did have a podium though- as Kat had taken the sprint jersey (purple and neon-pink diamonds) and I was in the point leader jersey as Zilute was in the leader jersey and so I was the second in line.

The next day was a double-day with a hill climb time trial in the morning and a road race with two cat 3 climbs and a cat 1 climb. I was really happy with how I did in the hill climb- it was a SUPER hard, steep and windy, climb of about 4 k, then 4 k of fast, very technical downhill. I am sure that the downhill saved me more than anything- I finished 24th- a really good finish for me in any time trial, especially one that goes uphill.

Later on that day, we headed out to the road race. Priority number one was to get Kat a bigger lead in the sprints. To do so, she needed to make it over the first two climbs. The team was to keep me in good position and I had to make it over the climbs to the finish, which Jim suspected would come back together. My sprint would come at 100k. I knew that the climbers were going to work for me and that it was my job to heft myself over that last 15k long climb in good position so that I did not let them down. I also had the first two climbs to contend with- I won’t lie... I was nervous.

Thankfully for me, the climbs were narrow roads which make it hard to move around. I am able to get good position in most pelotons, so I got up front so that I would be able to have the luxury of drifting back through the pack if need be and not get dropped. I was climbing strong and feeling good- especially at the pace that they set, so I did not slip back much at all. All of us made it over the first two climbs and I got to watch (saving for the finish) as Kat soundly won the sprints on the heals of another great lead-out by the team! They made it look easy to get up there and Kat made it look easy to deliver.

I fought hard to move up again and was psyching myself up for the big Cat 1 climb of 15k. I was expecting to be in a world of hurt and fighting to make my teammates sacrifices worthwhile. I moved up into good position and was once again saved by narrow roads that prevented a lot of attacks. Katheryn was up front and covered the first flurries of attacks at the base of the climb, but everyone sat up when one of the Spanish riders broke free and started riding solo up the road. There were 26k of downhill to the finish and it was windy. The climbers sat up and let her burn matches and ride alone. That was a blessing for me as I thanked the Spanish rider for each kilometer that I made it up the hill, feeling good and feeling like it was almost easy. The pace was not hard and I was in good position, so I did not have much work to do.

We hit the blistering fast downhill (strung out single-file the entire way down the mountain) and caught the Spaniard right away. There was a sprint at 96k and the finish at 100k (or thereabouts). Kat was not there. I saw her competitors for the sprint jersey moving into position and I started to worry. I heard the radio crackle looking for her and then some crackled reply. Turns out that on the downhill, her chain had dropped and she and Chrissy had stopped and were chasing. We were getting close to the sprint line- 1k to go, when all the sudden, Kat and Chrissy came up the left side of the pack, moved into position and Ali and Katheryn moved forward... Kat took the last sprint! I moved up and now we had our lead-out set. It was windy, that mysterious kind of wind that is somehow always in your face no matter how the road turns, and we set up a bit early. It was hard work to even sit on the wheels of my teammates as they wound up the pace. I saw 3k to go and we were already going hard. “OK guys, 3k to go” “NO, that was 5k!”... “5k?”... “Yes, 5k”... “uh, OK guys, 5k to go. You are doing great!” SHIT. I had misread the marker and was already working hard. The team was working much harder. Naturally, with the wind, the pace and the length of the lead-out, we could not stay up there all day. I watched heroic pull after heroic pull by my teammates, who would then drift back, catch their breath and get up there again. Kat was our last wheel and I saw the 2k mark and a small hill, felt the head wind and yelled up to her to hang on, to hold it steady- that she was the last. The radio crackled and Kat called for reserves. Next thing I knew, Alison mustered up another rush of energy and came up front for her last effort. We were approaching the 1k to go mark and Kat and Alison were both done- doing a great job and keeping me safe and now officially blown. Now it was my turn to fight for myself in the last stretch and the field was starting to swarm since the speed came down. Not good. Then, I heard my name and saw Katheryn come flying up on the right. I did not hesitate and got on her wheel. She mustered her last pull after two hard, red-lined efforts several kilometers earlier. She brought the pace back up, kept me safe and lead me through the last corner 600m before the finish exactly where I wanted to be. I was patient and looking at the markers- when I saw 200m, I gave it everything and dug hard to keep Zilute from coming around me. In the end I won- my first European win. Kat was again the sprinter jersey. (Side note: you should read Kat’s diary about the race when it is published on Cycling news and she will tell you about me accidentally taking her sprint jersey in the podium... I had already taken my stage win jersey and was sitting and nursing my fizzy water to the side of the podium. I heard them blabbing in incomprehensible french and heard “blah blah blah MEEEEELLAAAARRRRRR!!!” (That is Miller in French- or so I have come to learn) They were pointing at me, and I had heard my name. I gestured and looked puzzled. They again pointed and so I rushed out there, wondering what the purple and pink jersey was for. I pulled the jersey on, confused, but waving emphatically in the thrill of the moment- only as I walked back to Kat did I realize that I had made a mistake! They had called “Kathrine MEEEELLLLLLAAARRRRR” and had pointed at me... Kat took it in stride and has been making a lot of fun of me. She does a great job impersonating me waving at “my adoring fans”... A fan even came up to me the next day with a picture of me in the wrong jersey, asking for an autograph!)

Stage 4 we knew would be hard- it was the GC climber stage and Katheryn was our girl for the day. We started with 26 k of flat, including a sprint to set up Kat and then it was pure climbing hell from then on out. For a change, since I was not saving energy for the finish, I got to be part of the lead-out. Chrissy got up front at the 1k to go mark and went hard. At 500m, I jumped and was going as hard as I could and reveled when Kat jumped around around me and soundly won yet another sprint! What was even more fun was looking back at how much we had blown apart the field with our fast lead out into the sprint- they were way back there! It was fun.

Ali had been attacking hard on the flats, hoping to get a break off, but the whole peloton seemed to have that same plan and so the pace was blistering and nothing would stick. Riders were constantly attacking and attacking hard- only to be caught time and time again. As we headed into the climb, we heard bad news on the radio- Ali’s leg was hurting and she pulled out. When she had crashed with the motorcycle, she had hurt her leg and it was catching up to her.

My story from that stage is of me bonking and cracking on that first climb. Kat was taking care of me and leading me up the climb. I had not eaten enough (forgot, as I was not hungry on the flat part) and had chills. And it was a HELLISH hill. I kept looking up and thinking that we were at the top when I would see another steep pitch. I had first thought that we were at the top when we still had 3k left. Chrissy rode most of the race with me after I could not longer stay with Kat and in the end, we regrouped- beaten, hurt, fatigued, and just dead to the world. We limped back to the car and found Katheryn... “how’d it go?”... “uh it went OK. I got fourth” “FOURTH?!?!?!?!!!?” It was SO exciting! How Katheryn did it, I can only shutter to imagine- Fabiana Luperini (Italian National Champ) and this Spanish vapor of a woman, Maribel Moreno Allue (the Spanish National Champ) had attacked on that brutal and purely hellish climb-- while I was back trying hard to remember that there is no crying in bike racing, Katheryn was attacking the chase group and in no man’s land, chasing two of the top climbers in the world. She was in a solo chase for a long time until she was joined by two other riders on the Chirio team. (I am not fond of this team: I had watched earlier as one of their riders heard a crash, looked back and then attacked. I don’t like racing like that and don’t respect that). Katheryn battled the two of them all race, in the end, taking fourth behind Clemilda Fernandes of Chirio and moving to fourth in the GC.

Stage 5 was another hellish hilly day and this time, I was prepared. Our plan was for Katheryn to do her job and for the three of us to stick together. The race started out on a Cat 1 climb- we could barely clip in because it was so steep where we started- and so we just were racing for the time cut while Katheryn was to race to keep her spot in the GC and keep her eyes open for any opportunities. For the three of us, we were doing a looonnnnggg (117k) recreational ride and had packed a “picnic”. Instead of just race food, we had sandwiches stowed away in our jersey pockets! NO BONKING this time! It was gorgeous- really beyond description and we did enjoy the day, despite being utterly exhausted by the end from 4 hours in the saddle.

Katheryn had a rather un-eventful race. The two race leaders had attacked and Erin Willock from the Canadian National team jumped up to them. Katheryn did not go since she did not want to drag riders to Erin. The pack did not race hard and Katheryn tried hard to stay awake. There were no changes in the GC that day for us and nothing too exciting to report. Except that I was officially really, really tired.

Stage 6 was a circuit: we were doing 6 laps and we knew that there were two climbs on each lap. None of us had done this course before and we had originally thought that it would come down to a field sprint since the finish was windy and technical and we expected the race to regroup.

Our thoughts changed quickly when we went up the climb for the first time... holy hell! It was 2k of super steep and (to be redundant in describing this race in general) hellish. There was a lot of wind out there too and it was clear that there would definitely not be a bunch sprint finish. I joked to Zilute (super cool rider and another friendly face in the peloton) that we were not getting our bunch finish that we had toasted to at a BBQ the night before. She is a good climber, so she managed to get to the finish anyway.

It was an epic day though- we headed into the day with Kat already a lock for the sprint jersey. Her biggest threat to it had been time-cut the day before. (Made me realize that I have gotten a whole lot stronger on my climbing that I was not worried about being time cut... baby steps). Katheryn was in fourth in the GC and that alone was exciting. We were hoping that I could get to the finish to pick up another stage win, but that was our big goal. When we saw the hill, that goal was altered a bit... it would have been very hard for me to make the final selection. On the first lap- Kat saw a great opportunity and attacked as we headed into the windy roads of the town. She was quickly out of sight and had a great gap right away, after catching people off guard and attacking on the downhill. It was a brilliant move- early, with 72k left in the race, but a brilliant move. I was up front and saw two riders trying to bridge, then a flurry of other riders trying to make the cut. I saw everyone else come back and heard Jim radio to Kat that the two were right behind her. She had a minute.

We headed into the third lap and she had two minutes on the field. I knew my job... I got to the front to set the pace on the climb! Two jobs in one: 1. slowed the field way down- it was about as wide as a bike path and hard to get past me and 2. put me in position to make it over the hills. First time in my life that it was good that I am not a fast climber- the gap went from 2 minutes to 3! I was proud! And I felt good too, since I climbed nice and easy up the hill. Piano, piano!

Kat continued to hammer away and get a bigger and bigger gap as the field was trying to decide what to do. They were not going to chase. Luperini had tried to go, but was brought back. A flurry of other riders tried to go and were brought back. I hung on and was dropped on the fourth climb, clawed my way back only to be dropped again on the fifth. Clawed my way back to be dropped a final time on the second hill on the fifth lap. Meanwhile, going into the last climb on the last lap, the field split. The Canadians helped Katheryn when they realized that Clemilda was caught behind the split and they worked with her to help put time on the Chirio rider currently sitting in third place in the GC. All the while, I heard Jim on the radio telling Kat that she was doing great and past the hardest part. I was picturing her sprinting against her two break-mates and beating them to the line.

As soon as I crossed the finish, I turned to find out if Kat won... knowing that she was on the podium- finishing no less than third, but believing that she should have won, and probably did. Right away, I found Laura (our soignier) and she said that Kat won... by over 3 minutes! I had figured that she attacked the group she was with... until I found out that they had never made it to her! She was solo the entire time!!!!! It was amazing. I could hardly believe it! The two riders could not make it to her and she kept pushing and pushing hard. I was thrilled!!!! Then the next big news.... Kathryn had pushed Clemilda off the podium! She had taken over third place after putting enough time on her with the finish!!! Especially given how I felt about that team and their racing ethics- I could not have been more thrilled! WOW! Here, our scrappy little team of 5 went into this race, had a second place, two stage wins, a sprint jersey AND third overall! Talk about exceeding expectations!

Awesome teamwork!

Kat in the sprinter jersey... me in the points jersey. Yesterday was all about teamwork!

WOW! I am still so impressed with how well the team did. The course was 115k long with two climbs and three sprints. We had anticipated that it would come down to a bunch sprint and there are not a whole lot of sprinters here since this is very much a climbers course.

We decided to have Kat go for the sprint jersey and I would save for the finish. The first sprint....

HANG ON- on hold... we just finished stage 3. I lied when I said that we have internet access here. Despite paying 24 euro for the week... the signal is so horrible that internet is practically useless. I was so annoyed that I have not blogged. Instead, I have been fighting to send even the most simple emails. Anyway, so I will have to catch up.

But I wanted to give a quickie blurb on what has been going on so far... yesterday, long story short- we did a fantastic job and landed Kat in the sprint jersey after some great team work on the lead outs and I finished 2nd on the heals of the best lead out that I have ever had. Unfortunately, I would have probably won had I seen the finish line. I was on the wheel of Diane Zilute (Safi Pasta) waiting to jump around here and looking for the finish line. There was no big banner, so by the time I saw the strip on the ground, it was too late. DOH!

Today was a double day- a hill climb time trial with a descent. I was thrilled that I finished 24th- mostly because it was an insane downhill where I could make up time. But my legs are feeling good, so I did not climb too badly. That for me is HUGE. Remember back to Redlands- I finished 72nd on THAT hill climb time trial! So that was good. Kathryn was our top finisher and I think that she was 6th or 7th.

But the big news was today’s stage- not going into details since I am tired and have to go to bed. I will try and write up a report at some point, but long story short... we had a goal of getting Kat to the sprints that came after two good sized climbs. We did. She won BOTH! That was awesome. Then we hit the 15k cat 1 climb and the plan was for me to try and hang on to get to the finish line. We had 23k of downhill and Jim thought that it might come together as a bunch kick finish. Fortunately for me, a Spanish rider attacked the base of the hill and we watched her ride away solo, into the wind. She neutralized all the climbers, since they just let her ride, knowing that she would get caught later. So, with her off the front and me working hard to keep my good positioning, I was able to easily hang onto the climb. Better news- so did Kat. She also took the THIRD sprint! Now she is crushing the sprint competition!!! After the last bonus sprint, the team shifted into lead out mode and worked SO hard to get me to the line. We started a bit early and we were fighting a lot of head wind. I saw 5k to go and was already working really hard even in the draft! One by one, our riders blew, but would rest and then find their way up to the front to drive it again. With 2k left, Kat was my final lead out and she gave it her all before blowing... Ali got up there just in time to drive it a little more. Once she blew, I was on my own and things were getting hectic. None of the other teams were getting lead outs and I was in danger of getting swarmed and boxed in. Just then, Kathryn comes (after doing two other hard efforts earlier) to the front and I grab her wheel. She does the last 1k to 600m and keeps me safe. Other riders jump then and I follow wheels. I was watching- this time- for the markers and I saw 300 to go and was in good position. 250. Wait. 200 GO! I jumped hard and gave it my all. I could feel Zilute coming around me as I closed in on the last 100m and dug a little deeper. I hung on by about half a bike length for a win after great team work! Both today and yesterday... this is a great team! Have said it before and I will say it again... I am proud. This team pisses excellence (as Jim would say)!

Welcome to Ardeche!

We just got here and to our utter and complete shock- we found out that we have internet access!

This is a really beautiful area- it seemed like we were driving around San Diego, it is very dry with a lot of chaparral, but then we would see castles and little French towns with narrow streets. It was beautiful and I really enjoyed the drive. I am excited for this race... and I have to confess to not having too much initial enthusiasm.

I had heard that this race was a rough one. Instead of the plush hotels to which we are accustom, here, we stay at a campground with trailers. Two years ago, the trailers were horrible, so the rumor goes, and it rained constantly, confining everyone inside their stuffy, cold and smelly close quarters. We look to be in luck with beautiful weather and brand new trailers! So, the initial trepidation that I had about doing this race has mostly subsided and now I am excited to get a chance to do some more racing. It will be a very challenging race for me though- very hilly courses. So, I am just going to do the best I can.

I am tired right now and ready for a nap. I am getting better and slept through the night last night without waking to cough. So, my fears that I would not be able to do this race after being sick are also subsiding. I don’t think that Holland took too much out of me- the racing did not feel that hard. Don’t get me wrong... when we went hard... we went hard! But the races were short (only 100k) each day and there was a lot of downtime during each stage. When we were here before doing the one day races, they were hellish from the get go. So, this time, I felt like my training has prepared me and I think that I am ready to race again. Two days off were a treat and now I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle.

I am going to take off now- get settled in and see if I can get a nap in before dinner.

KRISTIN WON!!!!! WE WON!

WOW. Yesterday was a THRILL! We had the race in the morning and I was feeling pretty good that I had a good finish and was (honestly) a bit relieved that Jim said I did not have to do the TT. (Instead, I am doing Ardeche- another week long stage race and then Giro Toscana- another week long stage race). Chrissy, Meredith and I were assigned to go get time gaps for Kristin to see where she was on the course compared to Christian Soeder (Raleigh). Kristin’s main competition for the overall GC was Judith Ardnt from T-Mobile who was up on her 39 seconds. On a 20K TT, that is nearly impossible to get from a rider like Judith. We believed in Kristin and had worked hard all week, hoping to put her into a position where she could have a chance to win. We wanted a win badly and certainly, of all riders out there, SHE was the one who could do it.

I am sure that I have said it before, but that National teams are typically not that good. Usually the best riders are on the trade teams and the National teams are a hodge-podge of strong riders who are racing to get some experience. In the past, Jim would have been excited to have riders making the breaks- now we have a team that is creating breaks, driving them, defending a leader and working to control the race. It made me really proud. All week, we had been racing as if we were in the leader jersey and now we got to see if it would work. We had only one stage left and a multi-million dollar behemoth of a team standing in our way.

Chrissy and I were out on course with the time checks at the 11k mark and got another check about 5k later. In that time, Kristin had made up 11 seconds on Soeder! It was phenomenal and she makes it look so easy! We were quite sure at that point that she would win the stage, but we were hungry for more than just that. Chrissy and I hitch-hiked back to the start where the whole team was crammed in a car, listening into the race radio as we waited for the final riders to come in.

Every time the radio crackled, our hearts would skip a beat a bit- what did Judith get? What did she get? Judith was the second to last rider off (then Vos) and finally we hear that Judith got a 27:12... she was a full 44 seconds slower than Kristin! I yelled so loud that I could swear that Jim will never hear properly out of his left ear again! We still had to wait for Vos, but we knew- Kristin had done the impossible... she beat Judith by a ton and won. We won. I can’t tell you how sweet it was... it was amazing.

We had so much fun hooting and yelling for Kristin... it was fun to see her beaming and laughing at us trying so hard to make her laugh. It really was priceless. What is particularly fun about our win is how scrappy our team is- we are a hodge-podge of riders... all wearing our different team shorts and all on different bikes. We are not the well oiled and funded machine that is the magenta squad of T-Mobile. Yet, in the end... T-Mobile had the leader jersey, the points jersey, the sprint jersey... and lost them all. They left that race with the team overall classification and one stage win (Judith’s) and we left with a climber jersey and the overall. Wow.

That was yesterday... today, we flew to France and are in a really cool little city called Nimes... it really is an interesting combination between Italy, Spain and France. We got the luxury of walking around and exploring a bit. The city had originally been a Roman city and has a big colosseum that was build over 2,000 years ago. Still used for Bull Fighting (the Bull Fight capitol of France- hence the Spanish part)... but the streets are lined with decidedly French street cafes and trees. I felt like I was walking at one moment along Parisian streets and the next through Italy, and then, I found myself thinking that I must be in Spain. We had a nice day.

Tomorrow, we will head to Ardeche and race the following day... I am almost all better, but still lingering this cold a bit. The rest today was great- a nap in the sun, a good walk, some great food (and even some wine and dessert)... Should be race ready soon.

Internet access today, after a long while

I have been off line for a while since we changed hotels and did not have internet access. I have a quick chance to get online today, but then will be away from the net for a while. We had a change of plans and so my “Lucca Vacation”- i.e. the break I had scheduled where I would be training in Lucca before the Giro Toscana turned into racing another stage race in France: Tour of Ardeche. I will most definitely be out of touch for a while since we will be staying in some trailers and not in hotels. So, I get two days off, then another 5 days of racing, then two days off and another week of racing! Fortunately, I am getting a bit healthier, I think. But I have been fighting a cold for the last few days. I am coughing, but not a whole lot.

So, since my last entry- a LOT happened. It is hard to remember it all right now, so I will briefly recap. Two days ago, we had another flat race, but it was windy. Kristin had been watching the main GC threats and they were all in the back. I was up front with Meredith, controlling attacks by T-Mobile. We were to get on them right away and kill it. We did not want any of them getting any time on K. A Flexpoint rider was solo off the front sitting about 200m off the peloton and things were good. But then, I saw Ina winding up to full speed and attacking hard to bridge up to her. I immediately moved to the front and rode as hard as I could and brought her back. I knew that a split had happened behind me, but just as I caught Ina, her teammate, Linda (who is an even bigger threat to the overall) attacked and so I followed that. Meredith was with me, but we heard over the radio that Kristin was caught behind the split. We got the order right away to drop back and help close the gap so we dropped. It turned out that the entire peloton was shattered: there were FOUR groups. Vos bridged up to the leaders and dragged a few riders, so the front group swelled to 16 or so, including Vos, but with none of the other GC’s. We dropped back and with dead legs from chasing Ina, I joined in the chase. We had all our riders on the front and were going full gas- a bit demoralized to realize that we had 20k and they had 50 seconds on us! We chased until we blew and then T-Mobile took over. They did not trust Linda to out time trial Vos, so they were riding for Judith. With the chase, we brought back the group to about 20-25 seconds, but still, it sucked. And we were dead tired. My last effort was at about 1k to go and I went as hard as I can, getting spit out the back of the peloton as we crossed the finish line.

Vos had gained a bunch of time and we were not super happy about it. The tide turned yesterday though- we finally got a break. After having two stages where we lost GC time, it was nice that we got a chance to have something to be excited about. The game plan for yesterday was for me to take the bonus sprints since they had time on them and keep Vos and Judith from getting any more time on K. We were doing three big loops and then 4 5k loops through town. There were a couple hills, and although they were short- they hurt on the first lap enough that I was worried about how my legs would do. My job was to take time bonuses and patrol the front to squash any T-Mobile attacks.

As we headed into town where the first bonus was, Vos attacked and had a gap. I could not let her ride away and get time, so I got to the front and chased as hard as I could, bringing her back but blowing my legs right before the sprint. I had slipped to about 40th in the pack and radioed Jim that I was not in position to sprint. He radioed back for me to get up there and so I dug and started sprinting up through the pack to get up there and try to take the time. No luck- I was still about 20 riders back when they went. Vos again was off the front after the sprint and so I went up there and closed the gap again. Three red-line efforts back to back to back. I was DEAD. I radioed to Jim that my legs were toast and I would not be able to do much for a while, but then T-Mobile started to play. They sent Judith up the road and we were all told to get up there and chase. I had just gotten to the front when we hit the hill for the last time. It was only 400m or so, but I was so dead, I could barely get up it and was slipping off the back of the peloton. I fought my way up and moved up on the downhill.

We entered into the last finishing circuits that were basically a 5k crit with pure chaos: medians, curbs, cars, posts, corners and corners and corners- roundabouts and paving stones. I was up near the front as were Meredith and Kristin. K realized that there was a gap and Judith was caught behind and told Meredith to drive it. She went all out and opened the gap, forcing Judith to jump around and I followed. Meredith blew after causing the separation and so I was alone with Kristin. I had no idea at that point that we had a break- but I did know that the bonus sprint was coming up and I could not let Judith get any seconds. Kristin told me to get to the front and drive it, so I got up there and was going as hard as I could as we went into the sprint. I saw Judith jump and tried to sprint and couldn’t! I could not believe it! I have never blown up like that for a sprint before... I had nothing. Not only did I not sprint, but I soon got dropped from what turned out to be a break of about 15 or so riders. As I was getting dropped, I looked back and realized that we had a big gap and that was a break that could stick and I saw Kristin all alone. She was looking back at me and I knew that I needed to find a way to get back up there. I dug and dug and dug- sprinting as hard as I could and finding extra strength when I saw them ease up a bit- and I got up there. I was dead. I was laughing a bit to myself that I knew that I had to get up there but felt like I would be useless once I was there. I rested though and Jim was telling me that we had 20 seconds and that I had to get up there and go as hard as I could until I blew. And then do it again. Go until I could not go anymore. Judith and her teammate, Chantel Beltman, were up there driving the break and as soon as I could, I worked my way up to the front and went all out again. The blew to the back. Then worked back up again. Then blew to the back. Vos was not with us and we were working with T-Mobile to put time on her. My last pull was about 2k from the finish and I went until my legs felt like they would explode. I was dropped after that and the pack caught me as I crossed the finish line. But Kristin had put some good time on Vos and it had also put a bit more of a spring in our step: we had initiated that break and drove it hard. We were in control and not chasing. We felt good!

This morning was the start of our double day- 85k in the morning and then a 20k TT at night. I got let off the hook since I don’t have my TT bike or any areo-equipment, so since it is the last stage, I get to cheer my teammates on and get to take a break. And, Jim said that we worked hard enough that some of us get the stage off.

This morning was pretty uneventful- we were again patrolling the front and making sure that nothing too sneaky happened. It was a short stage and we made T-Mobile chase back the small break that spent the day off the front to set up Ina. The finish was a bit crazy- wet roads and a round-about 500m before the finish! With 5 k to go, I had fought my way up to the sprinters: they were all up there and there were a lot of them... Bronzini, Regina, Ina, Kristin Wild (AA Drink), Vos... and a few others. I decided to be patient today and NOT lead them all out. I was fighting for position and Kat and Lauren worked to keep me safe, moving me up when I would get shuffled back. They did a great job. With about 2k to go, I had a rider shove me and I shoved her back and pushed forward. I realize that you have to just keep focusing forward and pushing up as much as you can the whole time. I kept doing that and following the other sprinters, learning how they moved around. We came around the roundabout and they got antsy. I can’t honestly tell you who jumped first, but I knew that I was behind them and feeling good. I never really got to fully open up my sprint since I was weaving around riders, but I knew that I passed Ina and Vos and was feeling good. I closed on the line and took 3rd... (EDITORS NOTE: this is Brooke here, AFTER the official results were posted. I had SWORN that I had come around Ina- nope. She took second. I realize that once we jump for the sprint, all I see is the line in front of me and bodies... I just try and move around them and get there first. I had no idea that I had Ina... possibly THE most recognizable sprinter still in front of me! I felt stupid when I had been so confident and so wrong. But I was right about third) I was happy about that and feel like I am now starting to figure it out. It felt good to be fighting up there. Jim was making joking that he was not sure if it was good or bad that the crazier the sprint, the better I do... but honestly, I did not feel like it was TOO crazy. I had room to maneuver, so it was not that bad.

So, now I am waiting to go cheer on Kat, Lauren and Kristin and hopefully get to go celebrate later. I have complete confidence in Kristin. She is amazing and I think that she can do it. The cool thing is that in the past, Jim would be excited when our riders would make a break. Now, we are racing for a win and working to control the races. Typically, National teams are not that good- the best riders are on trade teams. So, to come here with a national team and beat a multi-million dollar team like T-Mobile would just be too sweet. Fingers crossed!

Cobbles, Rain, Road Furniture, Flat, Windy and Crashes?... yup. We’re in Holland!

Yesterday was stage 2 of the Tour of Holland and our first flat stage. After the race, we drove for about two hours (or at least that is what it felt like with the traffic) and got to our new hotel which does not have internet access. We just finished Stage 3- will tell you about that in a second- and so we switched hotels and are not back online. We actually had no intention of switching hotels- but it was a bit fleabag last night and with the mosquitos and such, Jim decided that it would be better if we were closer to town anyway. So, now we are back online.

So yesterdays race was a bit of a bummer. It was very Holland, even starting out with rain. The course was pancake flat and was a chance for me to test my sprint, but we had bigger priorities as a team. We were working to get Kristin into the winners jersey after the time trial. So our main race focus was keeping Kristin in position and keeping her opponents from gaining too many time bonuses on her. We started out great: we all managed to stay rubber side down through the towns with medians and posts, not to mention cars strewn about the course and headed into the cobbled sections in good position. The cobbles were more annoying than anything since they had strips of paving stones on either side. So, we all rode single file on the pavers and the cobbles failed to break the race up. And we had a lot of them too! I like cobbles when they are hard and become an element in the race, but these were, as I said, more annoying than anything. We just had to put up with them and there were no splits as we raced through.

The team’s job was to be up front and take opportunistic rides in breaks that might form. Nothing too dangerous split- except for a move that lasted for a while with a couple Flexpoint riders and an AA drink rider. They did not go too far though and neutralized attacks for a good many kilometers. My job was to go for bonus sprints to keep Vos and the other threatening riders from snatching up points on Kristin. As we headed into the first bonus, the team did a great job of moving me into position and getting me set. Chrissy moved me up twice and Kat was up there helping with the lead out. I was in good position but I could not really tell where the sprint was. It was not well marked and I ended up getting edged out and did not get any points and was not able to come around Vos. So, she snapped up a second on Kristin. It was good practice none the less for sprinting, but I was bummed to not get some points on the board. I think that Ina ended up taking the sprint- she was up there and I can’t remember now if she won or not.

As we headed back into town, we were to complete a couple 7k finishing circuits. We caught the three riders who had been off for a while and were then focusing on the finish. Kristin had attacked and got a good split with about 20k to the finish and was dragging a pack of riders. She strung the field out and we chased hard. She did a great job, but when things came back together, we had a bit of a problem- we were about 4 k from the finish when Judith Arnt (T-Mobile) and Trixie Worack (Nuremburg) got off the front with another rider. They are Kristin’s two biggest threats and we could not let them get time. They are also friends and were working hard together. With little time to spare, Jim gave the call to bring them back, but our team was scattered through the pack and not in great position. I happened to be in good position and moved up and dropped my head and just started to go as hard as I could. It was 2k from the finish and they were dangling within sight. As can often happen in the heat of the moment though, we had a bit of confusion. I was closing on them, but had caused a gap from the main field and was tailed by two T-mobile riders. We had some confusion as to if I should sit or drive it (Pro of sitting up, not dragging Judith’s teammates up to her, Pro of me driving it- when I went hard, the field was chasing regardless of the gap behind me: all of this is hard to communicate during a race and is the sort of thing that gets figured out later and through experience, which I still lack). I was not quite sure what to do and drove it hard, but when I was told to sit, I sat up. In the end, we made a mistake and did not get them back in time and they gained valuable time on Kristin. I was, of course, not able to sprint after that effort, but I did feel happy that I was at least able to help out.

Today was another flat stage and was cold and threatening rain more than it actually rained. There were two hills on the race today and our goal was to keep Kristin in the climber jersey and keep the race together so that she still has a chance to win the overall after the time trial. NO MORE attacks in the late race like the day before! Our plan worked well and the team really had a great race. We did what we were supposed to do.

I had been feeling under the weather and am fighting off a head cold, but was feeling good during the race. Either the racing is a lot easier than it was in the spring, or I am a lot stronger: but I felt like the race was pretty easy out there today and felt really good. The team was really doing a great job of communicating and all being up front so that we could patrol the front and make sure that the riders that we needed to watch did not get up the road. When we hit the hills, Kristin sat up front and drove the pace, easily winning both QOM’s and nailing her win of the climber competition. We all stayed with the main group over the climbs and were all moving up the entire race.

Again, there were a lot of obstacles in the roads, but we avoided the crashes (including a very big one right before the first climb when the entire peloton was jockeying for position... the road up the climb was super narrow, only wide enough for two or three riders shoulder to shoulder and so everyone was fighting to be up front when we hit the climb. Our team was successful and in good position). The race was fairly uneventful today except for two separations that were dangerous- Lauren trashed herself and brought them back before they got any appreciable time. It was particularly dangerous when Judith attacked within 10k... I had gotten shuffled and was way back there and heard Lauren radio that Judith had attacked. She got up there and drove it hard before I got a chance to move anywhere- but I had tried! And just trying to move up to help is hard work! My hat is off to her, she did a great job of keeping that contained and really killed herself.

It was hectic going into the finish, but Jim radioed that if it was all together, I should try sprinting. I was feeling good, but with 2k to go, it was pretty chaotic. The leadout trains were not set and it was a free-for-all. I found Regina, Ina and Vos, and was following them as they navigated the swarm. As we were coming into the finish, it got a bit dodgy, including me weaving in and out of some cones and thinking that I would for sure eat pavement. I stayed clear of the chaos and saw the finish line ahead... there was a big orange inflatable banner and I jumped, hard. I felt great and had a clear shot to my big, beautiful orange banner... which I realized just as I jumped, was not the finish line, but about 50m before the finish line. I knew right away that I made a mistake and jumped too early, but just dug and dug on my sprint. I felt great and was thinking that I might hold them off, but it was no use. It was too far out and they were going too fast. I could not hold it and in the end, issued the other sprinters a great lead out. ARGH!

My legs blew as I crossed to my mistaken finish line and the rest of the riders came flying by me. I was so frustrated. It really is such a bummer to mess up a finish when I don’t get too many chances at them. I keep replaying it in my mind and wondering what if... what if... what if? I know that I can’t do that and have to focus on my positives: I am up there. I am learning. I am navigating through a sea of chaos and did not get boxed in. I am racing against years and years of experience and made a rookie move on many accounts. My sprint felt good and I can definitely jockey for position... I know that the rest will come.

I just got back from dinner and am in my little “cozy” room. It really is a bit funny- since I am getting sick (or trying hard not to), I am quarantined into my own room. You would think that it is a treat to have your own room, but it sucks. I really do love hanging out with the girls and when you are by yourself, you feel so isolated (although later in the trip- I know that I will relish my alone time when I get it). We have a good group here and they are fun to hang with, but I certainly don’t want to get anyone sick! But what is funny- is that when Jim got this room, they told him that it is only for “emergencies”. It has been renamed my “janitor closet”... I have a toilet IN my room and have no bathroom and no shower. And no heater... but I do have a toilet (but they did not restock the TP and I am already rationing it... I have about 4 squares left and then the cardboard roll, but there is a left-over EMPTY cardboard roll, so I should probably count that in my rations too). So poor Brooke- no Molokai for this Leper... just a glorified broom closet with plumbing and a bed!

I don’t want anyone to think that I am bummed out. Especially after a good dinner- the race is behind me and I am excited to get to race again tomorrow. I had a good day out there and the team really did a great job. I am bummed and frustrated that my finish did not go the way I had hoped for feel that it could have, but all and all, it still was a good day out there.

Tomorrow, we will go to yet another hotel and hopefully they will have internet and toilet paper. If not, I will post when I get a chance.

Holland is flat. Totally flat. HA!

Well- not so much. Today’s stage was the hilliest stage of the Tour of Holland. We did 5 laps of a 20 k circuit that included three climbs- two bigger power climbs (including the Cauberg that the men finish the Amstel Gold on) and then a smaller little kicker. It was clearly not going to be my race to shine in and my job was mostly to do my best to help the team and hang on for the flatter stages where I have more of a job to do.

I was actually feeling really good out there today and hanging well on the climbs. I actually found that the climbs were not too hard- but what WAS hard was the flat windy sections at the top. There was no respite after the climb and instead, the pace was fast and the wind was strong, leading the field to be strung out and left to suffer. That was what was cooking my legs, not the hills.

I had been nervous before the race a bit. I was thinking that it might take me a while to get comfortable in the Euro peloton again: riders are so much more aggressive and ride so much closer. There is also a lot more bumping (intentional and otherwise) and shouting (intentional and otherwise!). Instead, however, I was pleasantly surprised that I felt comfortable right away... I was right at home. Almost as though I had never left! I was also really happy to see some friendly faces in the peloton- riders who I recognized and who recognized me. I had a few hellos and a couple chats. I felt welcomed. This is particularly good as people remembering me means that it is easier to get better position since I don’t have to fight quite so hard for wheels and position. It was a lot of fun to get back into the mix.

I worked hard today to try and do my job. We were racing for Kristin and hoping to land her in the winner’s jersey by race end. K found the climber jersey today and so that was good! And she is clearly in striking distance of the win given that the TT is the last stage and she is only 12 seconds down (I think). Anyway, for me, as I said before, my job description was a little bit loose in that it was of the “be up there to help out” and “hang on” variety. Most importantly, “don’t miss the time cut!!!”

Like I mentioned before, I was feeling good on the climbs and was in the main group for most of the day. Kristin kept getting into selections, but they kept coming back. I fought to get up front to help cover things or drive the pace or just be available to do SOMETHING (and because being up front kept me from getting dropped on the climbs)... and at one point, I did get to drive the pace with Kat and Lauren as we set up Kristin for a big attack on one of the climbs.

I hung on for 4 of the 5 laps, but the fourth time up the Cauberg (800m and very steep), there was a separation and I was in the group behind with Chrissy and Kat. I was hanging on with them until the finishing climb when a small gap opened up. I was dangling just a few bike lengths behind as we crossed the top, but with the strong wind on the top, I could not close it. Soon, I was no longer able to chase and found myself being passed by the caravan cars. DOH! I hate to be dropped. It was frustrating in particular since I felt good in general. I felt really strong but still got dropped. Argh.

Not long after riding solo though, I had a bit of a stomach issue. I have gotten this a few times now... I have self-diagnosed the problem as “RIIBS”... race induced irritable bowel syndrome. Not sure why, but lets just leave it at I will take some immodium tonight and all will be fine in the morning.

At any rate- so I was riding along solo when I could not take it anymore. I was less than 10 k from the finish and I could not go on! I have never had this happen during a race though (usually before or after). HOLY COW! I was cramping, hurting and on the verge of tears. Fortunately, I was able to stop and go to the bathroom. The bonus was that I joined the race in time to catch up with another dropped group and so I had some company for the ride home.

I felt a lot better (physically and emotionally) after getting back to the hotel, eating, showering and then learning that I had a break rubbing the whole race! Turns out that a nipple on my spoke broke and knocked my wheel out of true. It was rubbing on the rear and I am pretty sure that it happened on the first climb of the day! Regardless of how much it actually effected my race, it certainly made me feel much better to know that there was something that could have contributed! Chris, our wrench, was able to fix it and so now I should be good to go and I do adore those wheels (HED Stinger 60’s) and so I am very happy that he had another nipple to replace the bum one with.

I am pretty tired. I am about to head off to bed. I still do feel strong and think that I will find that my fitness will help me get through this week strong more than anything. Although I did not have a good finish today- a lot of riders are tried and hurting pretty badly. All and all, I feel pretty good. That is a good sign and I think that I will be riding strong as the week goes on. Or, at least, that is the hope!

PS... Marianne Vos inspired my subject today. She is really friendly and we were chatting a bit today... she said, “how do you like flat Holland?” (she is Dutch)... I retorted with “they LIED to me!” She is one of those friendly faces in the peloton who made me happy to be back. She really is a nice girl and so if we are not going to win today- it makes me happy to see that she did. Of course, we want to beat her! But still, she is a good competitor and a good person from what I know.

Gotta be flexible...

On a team, sometimes plans change and you just have to be flexible. When we had pre-ridden the course, we made a mistake and accidentally rode the old course, not the new one that includes a 3k climb. The race had 6 laps, so with the three climbs, it totaled 5 k or so of climbing on each lap and we had not realized that. While we were off riding the wrong course, Jim was driving the right course. He realized that it was not a good course for me and would be much better suited for Chrissy, who is a much better climber. He broke the news to me shortly after I posted my blog that there would be a change in the starting line-up. Of course it was a big disappointment for me since I really wanted to race, but I knew that it really was the right decision. Once I saw the course the next day, it became really clear that I would not have been able to contribute and it would have been pointless to have me there. It sucked, but I understand completely. I just did what I could do and made the best of it.

I had a great ride: I rode out to the course and did two laps before the team started to race. I then took off and explored around the French countryside and found a few little magical towns that just seem too unreal... crumbling rock walls and creeping geraniums over ancient barns that co-mingle with cars and the rest of modern life. It was beautiful. I really did enjoy myself.

I then rode back to watch my teammates race and cheer them on. If you are not going to race, at least you get the bonus of watching the race! Man... watching them suffer, I knew that it was the right decision! It was a hard day for the US team... Chrissy had a flat on a downhill on her front wheel, but managed to survive and get back on. But with how fast that course was, it was hard work. Alison crashed, not hard, but with enough delay that her race was effectively ruined... Kori, Kathryn and Lauren were in the lead group, but were unable to bring back the winning break. After a heroic effort to bring back the break for Kathryn, Lauren got popped and finished just behind the front group. Kori had bridged up to the break before the one that stuck and was not able to make the last selection... and Kathryn was not able to get away on the final climb.

It was tough out there and not one of the races that would have suited me. It is frustrating at times to be a sprinter- a climber can always help on any race. They can help on the flats and can give a lead out. But for me... there are a ton of races where I simply can’t be of any help. I feel useless and it sucks (for lack of a better word). I really want to help, but sometimes, I can’t. If I can get a bottle handed off, I have done my job. As I get stronger, I know that I will be able to help more, but there will always be some races where I have to work to set up my climber and let her do the rest of it herself. That is a bummer.

Now, I am sitting in a hotel room in Holland and getting ready for the tour tomorrow. We start out with a hellish climbing stage- 4 circuits and several big climbs on each lap... including the one that Amstel-Gold Classic finished on when we were here for Flesche in the Spring. It is going to hurt, but I feel good and excited to suffer! Perhaps I am a bit sick in the head since I like to hurt... we will see how well I can hurt tomorrow!